


Get to know you

by M_Noir



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7791145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Noir/pseuds/M_Noir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel Agreste: Fashion icon. <br/>Marinette Dupain-Cheng: fashion designer on the making. <br/>Career week is here and Marinette is incredibly excited since her mentor is going to be her favorite designer. Her crush, Adrien, will also be there and nothing could ever go wrong for her. Unless a series of surprises get in her way... <br/>A girl fighting for her dream, a chance like no other and a boy that keeps her feet off the ground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning."

― Criss Jami, Killosophy

The alarm went off and Marinette let an arm out of her bed to reach out her phone, without actually opening her eyes, so in that way she could hit the snooze button.

"Marinette, you're going to be late for school" you could hear Marinette's mom calling for her.

"I know, I'm going," the girl responded, but it was clear that she wasn't planning on moving just yet.

Suddenly, a red spot flew from her hiding place onto Marinette's hair, pulling from it to get her out of bed.

"Come on, Marinette, Alya is waiting for you. Don't you wanna see Adrien? " said Tikki, her kwami.

/If you don't know what a kwami is, well, it is a sort of ancient Chinese god or… oh, you already knew? Well, thank God, because I really don't feel like explaining that. Anyway, let's move on. /

The simple mention of that name made her open her eyes, but it still wasn't enough for taking her out of bed. She had spent the night before fighting an akumatized villain alongside Chat Noir, so she wasn't all about getting up this morning. Or any morning, for that matter, but this one was a special case.

"Would it be too bad if I didn't go to school just one day?" Marinette buried her head again in her pillow, which made her comment barely audible. Thankfully, the day was quiet, so Tikki could hear her perfectly.

"Girl, you have been absent too many times already. I know being Ladybug isn't easy, but are you going to draw away Marinette from her normal life just because of that? Besides, today is the day when you choose a career for career week! It will be the most wonderful week of all if you choose right!"

"Tikki, I had completely forgotten about that!" chimed Marinette as she got out of bed and started changing her clothes. She took the first thing she could found, a red skater-type dress with white flowers on it, white sneakers and her hair in the typical pigtails.

She ran down the stairs, greeted her mom and took off, not without taking a croissant and an apple with her first. She was already out of the door when a feeling of a lack of something assaulted her. That's when the girl noticed she had left all of her stuff in her room. From her backpack to, well, Tikki. Marinette ran for it and finally she was headed to school.

When she arrived, the doors were still closed and few people were there, which really pleased her because that meant she would still have an opportunity to choose her career. Her friend Alya wasn't there yet, so she sat on the stairs to wait while eating her apple.

Suddenly, a familiar face came into her sight. It was her best friend's boyfriend, Nino. It was weird to think of him that way thanks to the fact that they had known each other since she could remember; but kids grow making space for teenagers to take their places and things change for better or for worse.

Marinette waved at him, and when Nino saw her he waved back, just before approaching to her and sitting by her side.

"You're here early," Nino said when he settled.

"Couldn't miss career day, could I?" Marinette responded, with a smile on her face. She really liked being around Nino, especially if that meant spending time with Adrien, even if she couldn't find a way to speak to him.

"You really couldn't. I heard Adrien will be a mentor of the 'modeling' career. Would you be interested in applying for that?" Nino informed with a smile on his face, the one that she always gets from him whenever she makes the slightest contact with Adrien. He knew she liked him, and yet Adrien was oblivious of the fact.

As marvelous as spending a whole week with Adrien sounded, Marinette couldn't forget the true purpose of career week over a boy. She wanted to be a fashion designer when she grew up, and that career was one of the most asked ones, as far as she knew. If she wanted to be the best as a grown up, she had to start by now, and then, one day, she would hear her name everywhere and see her collections and designs in every magazine she dared to open, alongside her handsome husband, of course. That's what she wanted, more than anything in life. Perhaps more than Adrien himself. Although, if she didn't get into her career, then she wouldn't mind giving modeling a try just to spend some more time with Adrien.

"I don't think so, I'm really eager to give fashion design a try. Who do you think will be this year's mentor?" Marinette inquired, more to herself than to the guy sitting beside her.

In that moment, a familiar white limo stopped in front of the school. Adrien had arrived pretty early himself too. He had no need to find the perfect career since he would be mentoring one, but maybe that was why he arrived that early, to meet his new pupils. When Marinette spotted the boy, she couldn't help but blushing. He looked really handsome to her, with his jacket and his blond hair and… she let out a sigh.

"Adrien! What's up, dude?" exclaimed Nino when he saw his friend stepping out of the limo.

"Hi Nino. Hi Marinette," he said, looking at the blue-eyed girl. He wouldn't admit it, but he actually wanted to get to know Marinette a little better, although she never seemed to want the same thing. She was always fast to push him away, in a way that made Adrien feel like she didn't like him very much. Little did he know, right?

"I… ummm… h-hi-llo… I-I mean! Hi, Adrien!" shouted Marinette, still with pink stains on her cheeks. The blond boy smiled at her and she felt like there was no air in her lungs and she was about to faint.

Luckily enough, her friend Alya arrived just in time to sit by Marinette's side and give her the strength she needed, because oh boy! Adrien Agreste was just… so dreamy!

"Hi guys, already know what you're going to be signing up for?" said Alya, saving Marinette's dignity in the process. From now on, and to avoid any possible embarrassment, Marinette would only look at her best friend while talking, because looking other way might be too dangerous for her.

"Fashion design, you know it" said Marinette with a smile. The pink from her cheeks has almost completely gone, but came up again quickly when she heard Adrien's voice again, directing his comments to her.

"You are signing into fashion design?" he asked.

"Well, y-yeah, it's kind of a dr-dream I've always had" stuttered Marinette.

"Makes sense. I've seen your designs and they are amazing! I wish I was as talented as you are" admitted Adrien. He was kind of feeling bad because now Marinette wouldn't even look at him, and that made him sad. He had seen how she acted when she was around people that she trusted and it wasn't anything like what she acted when he was around. Heck, even Chat Noir had better luck with her! Perhaps it was that Chat Noir is a superhero, and superheroes make everyone feel safe.

"Tha-thank you. They're not as are as you amazing… I mean! You is… I mean!..." Marinette started sweating, with a look of panic in her eyes. She really wasn't able to handle herself whenever that boy was around.

"What she means is just thank you" interrupted Alya, saving her friend, to which Marinette greeted with a smile and a nod of her head, followed by letting her head fall into her hands. What would she do without Alya? Maybe stutter more…

More people started to arrive and the 4 friends kept on talking for a while. Few minutes after, the doors opened and the first bell rang. Each and every student ran to the inside of the school to write their name on a paper sheet and secure their place in a career, except for Adrien, who just found his booth and stood on the other side patiently waiting for people to go sign up.

When Marinette found her dream booth she approached to it. She looked at the sheet and there were three names already written, out of the 10 that could take place. She took out a pen, but someone ran into her, making it fall. She got down on her knees to look for it, but the pen was already gone to another dimension. She looked at the booth and there was already a line of people waiting to put their name on the list. She was about to stand and claim her place, but was sure that no one would lend their pen to her if she did that. Suddenly, she saw a pair of orange snickers stopping in front of her. She looked up to see the owner of them, only to reveal the image of a perfect blonde boy handing her a pen. For some seconds there, she wasn't able to understand what he was doing, she just wanted to be there looking at those beautiful shinny green eyes, but a stroke of reality brought her back. She grabbed the pen and then Adrien helped her get up.

"I saw you were struggling with a pen" Adrien joked. Marinette only gave him a shy smile, afraid of embarrassing herself, put up a finger to ask him to hold and turned to see the sheet, there was only one free space to make the list, so she wrote her name before anyone else could, securing her place into the fashion design career.

"Thank you, I… That was… You… thank you," the black-haired girl ended up saying, returning his pen and giving him a sincere smile.

"It was nothing, you can keep it" said Adrien and returned to his place under the gaze of a 15 year old girl, madly in love with him.

...

Adrien went to settle up in his booth when the doors opened. There were already plenty of girls lining up to sign their name in the list. He greeted the girls with a smile, answering if they had any questions about the career. They were mostly interested in knowing if he was single or if it was true that he was dating Chloé, which was a rumor that he didn't even know about.

He then saw a blonde ponytail approaching to his position. She had a pink pen in her hand and her presence was imposing to the girls in line. She pushed her way until she was the first one on the line and wrote her name in pink ink. He looked over to the fashion design booth, seeing a girl in a red dress checking out the list and looking for something in her backpack, maybe a pen.

"Oh hi, Adrien. I don't think we'll need anymore company throughout the week. Maybe you could tell them they have no chances on this career right now so they don't waste their time," Chloé blocked his view to the black-haired girl to make the model have full attention on her. Adrien laughed nervously, not knowing what to do.

"I…" began Adrien, but then saw how someone pushed Marinette, making the pen she was holding, fall. She went down on her knees to look for it, and after some moments, the boy realized she couldn't find it. He searched in his pocket for a pen he always carried, he took it out and began to walk. "I'll be right back," he said as he was getting far from his booth, under the exasperated look of Chloé Bourgeois.

When he returned to the booth, the sheet was already filled with names, so he kept it in a folder under the sad looks of the girls who were still waiting in line to get to write their names.

"Busy day?" he heard the voice of his pal Nino coming from behind his head.

"Looks more like the beginning of an insufferable week" whispered the kwami hiding in his pocket: Plagg.


	2. Chapter 2

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined."

― Henry David Thoreau

"How did it go?" said Alya when se reunited with Marinette, who had a dreamy look and a smile on her face, as well as pink stains on her cheeks.

"It was wonderful…" whispered Marinette without thinking.

"Girl, what happened?" the voice of her friend brought her back to reality almost if as she had fallen from cloud 9; but it was impossible for her not to think about what had happened… did it really? She moved her hand to her purse, feeling the pen the blond boy gave to her as if she needed to prove that it was real and not just a dream.

"Oh Alya! He gave me his pen! I think it's time to start planning the wedding. I will never use another pen in my life and I will write my wedding vows with it. We'll adopt a kid, or maybe two, and I'll be signing the papers with this pen," giggled Marinette, staring at the horizon, not noticing that two friends were approaching to them and could hear her.

"Kids? A Wedding? What are you girls talking about?" asked Nino when they arrived. Marinette let out a squeak that could have been from a mouse as well. After, her cheeks went from slight pink-ish to a complete tomato red.

"Ya' know, celebrities and stuff" answered Alya, holding Nino's hand on the process. She was playing it cool so the boys wouldn't notice.

"If I were to marry a celebrity, I'd marry Lady WiFi" said Nino, looking at her girlfriend and with a cheesy smile on his face.

"Well, if I were to marry a celebrity, I'd marry… Chat Noir," with that being said, Alya gained 3 pairs of completely astonished eyes looking at her. "Oh, don't look so surprised, he's Ladybug's sidekick, for God's sake! Besides, he is kind of cute…"

Adrien blushed a little, but was happy that his friends didn't notice, because he wouldn't know how to explain that event. Marinette could only think to herself that Chat Noir would really like to hear that and give his ego a boost. She wondered if he flirted with other girls whenever she wasn't around.

"How about you, Marinette?" asked Adrien, with a slight hope that she liked him after he had borrowed the pen to her. He didn't notice before, but the girl was completely red and, for a moment, he could have sworn she got even redder when he spoke to her. Could it be that maybe it wasn't that she didn't like him? Maybe it was just that she was shy around him… Of course, he was a model, but no one else seemed to care up to the point of not talking to him. 'But wait' he thought, 'she wants to be a designer and my father is one of the most recognized ones; that totally must be it!'

"You," said Marinette, again without thinking. "I mean! You know… this guy with… eyes…"

"Oh yeah, the one with the nose and the ears too, right?" joked Nino.

"Nino!" scolded Alya.

"It's okay, Alya. I guess I really meant that one" laughed Marinette, giving Nino a fist-bump and gaining the angry look of her best friend.

"Well," continued Adrien, "if I were to marry a celebrity, it would be…" he really wanted to say 'Ladybug', but didn't wanted to sound like a total fanboy. I mean, for Alya it was okay, she runs the LadyBlog, everyone knew that she likes superheroes, but for Adrien to admit it, that was a little more complicated.

"Me, of course" the four friends turned around to see who was talking, only to reveal Chloé Bourgeois, listening to their conversation.

"Listening others' conversations is not quite polite, Chloé" snapped Alya.

"Oh whatever, like I cared about what you talk on your free time. I just came here to talk to my new mentor: Adrikins," she sing-songed. "I bet your looking forward to us working together the whole week, right? I know you're tired of this people, perhaps you need to be around cool people for a while," she grabbed Adrien by the hand and took him away from the group, while he looked back at his friends extending his other arm at them, as if he wanted to be rescued from the claws of that rich brat.

Marinette looked back at Adrien as he walked away and she could barely hold a scream. How dare she take the love of her life out of her side? Then again, she never really talked to him, so maybe there was nothing she could do to bring Adrien back. She was just so mad at Chloé for taking Adrien away. In a rush of bravery, the lion-heart soul Ladybug has took over the body of the blue-eyed girl, who approached to them, held Adrien's hand and told Chloé:

"If he wanted to be with you, then he would, but it looks like he prefers having a good time, so don't mind if I do" and then Marinette brought Adrien back to their friends. The asmazed, yet proud looks in Alya and Nino, the angry look in Chloé and the happy look in Adrien spoke for themselves. What was she thinking? The thing is that, she wasn't; that was the effect Adrien had on her.

"Thanks, Marinette. I really didn't want to be over there," admitted Adrien.

"It was nothing," she muttered, smiling at him. They both stared at each other's eyes for God knows how long. Both in silence, just waiting for the other to say something but, at the same time, not wanting to break the peace between them; and finally, when someone spoke, it wasn't any of the two.

"So… I guess you can let him go now," interrupted Nino. In that moment, the black-haired girl and the blond guy noticed that they were still holding hands. They both turned red and quickly let go the other's hand.

"Anyway, what do you want to do now?" Adrien said this mostly because he wanted to change subject, but also, he really wanted to know what were they supposed to do after they finished with the duties for the day. He was new to the school, which meant he had no knowledge to the traditions the school held for something like this.

"Well, we can just go around the career fair to go and watch the losers who came in late and lost a spot on the desired careers" answered Nino, with a smile on his face. "That is always fun to do."

"But wait, Nino. What career are you in?" asked Marinette.

"Musician, of course."

"You don't know how to play any instruments" remarked Adrien.

"Dude, that hurts," said Nino as he put a hand on his chest and gazed at him with a fake sad look, as if he was heartbroken. "The DJ table is my instrument."

"Did you ask if that counts?" inquired the boy's girlfriend.

"Of course it counts! They would be fools if they thought it didn't," said the soon-to-be DJ, downplaying Alya's concerns.

The friends hung out at the school for several minutes and then, they went for something to eat at the cafeteria, but it was full of people, so they decided to go to a near café shop. They talked about the career they chose and their plans for the week. The lists were immediately delivered to the respective mentors, so all they had to do was wait for instructions from their teacher. Alya talked about how she didn't want to miss any events concerning Ladybug because of the assignment and that's why she chose journalism, hoping to be able to go and cover Ladybug's stunts and publish them on the LadyBlog.

"Seems like everyone got a spot into their dream career," said Adrien. "Speaking of which; Marinette, I should tell you that this year's mentor is my father," he said with a shy smile, as if he didn't want Marinette to know so she wouldn't back up on her decision.

"Really? Oh my God, I've heard he's really harsh with his workers. Imma try and do my best. But what if he doesn't like my designs? Well, I know his style has plenty of variety, so maybe he's up for something new… something like my style. Then again, I'm there to learn, so if he doesn't like them, I'll just try and get better," said Marinette, filled with conviction, looking at her coffee and then directing a shy smile to Adrien.

Hours passed by and it was time for the kids to head home. They all said goodbye and followed their respective paths. Adrien's driver arrived for him at the door of the school just in time, like always. He headed home in a quiet car ride, with only the sounds of the street.

...

When he got home, he saw Natalie, his father's assistant, waiting for him.

"Your father wants to speak with you in his office now," Adrien wasn't expecting this. Since his extracurricular classes at school were cancelled for the day like the other classes and he had no photo shoots programmed for the day, he was planning on being in his room with Plagg for some hours unless a villain was unleashed in the streets of Paris.

Anyway, he entered his father's office to reveal the man sitting behind his desk. He had a paper on his hand and he appeared to be reading it.

"Natalie told me you wanted to see me," whispered Adrien when he entered the room, making Mr. Agreste raise his view from the paper to his son.

"I have something to discuss with you, please get near," so Adrien did, and his father handed him the paper he was previously reading. "Do you recognize any of these names?"

Adrien looked at the paper and realized it was actually the list of the fashion design course for career week. What did he want from him?

"Yeah, these are all names from people in my school," he looked again just to spot Marinette's name on the list. She was the last one.

"And since you know them better than me, I want you to pick one who I should work with," said Adrien's dad.

"But father, you are supposed to work with all of them."

"I'm not a babysitter, Adrien. I just have space for one of them and I want you to tell me who will that be," demanded Gabriel. He really just wanted to work with one of them. He barely even spent time with his son, why would he spend time with 10 other unrelated teenagers?

Adrien saw the list and knew that they all wanted to be there, but perhaps there was one girl who wanted it the most. He thought about it for some seconds and knew that if she didn't get this, she wouldn't know what to do for the rest of the week, maybe even her life. Maybe she would think Gabriel thought her designs weren't good enough, but they were. So looking at his father in the eye and handing him the paper, he said, full of pride: "I think you should pick Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"That settles it. I'll write a letter for you teacher then."

With that being said, Adrien stepped out of his father's office and went directly to his room.

"I'm guessing the lovebirds from the first day are coming out again," said Plagg when they were finally alone.

"Shut up, Plagg, she's just a friend," snapped Adrien.

"Just a friend, you say? Well, I am sure she was the one who sent the heart-shaped letter on Valentine's Day," responded the kwami.

"How do you know?" Adrien turned to look at Plagg, who had a smile on his face. Adrien was blushing a little.

"I don't, I just wanted to see if you were interested in her, and you blushed; that means you are quite interested in her. I happen to be pretty good at this dating thing."

"I didn't think you were good at something that didn't involve camembert," accused the boy, giving his kwami an skeptical look.

"Who said dating doesn't include camembert?" Adrien smiled at the little black creature and went to sit by his computer.

...

"Hi mom, hi dad," said Marinette as she arrived home.

"Hi sweetie, how was school? Did you get in the career that you wanted?" asked Sabine, Marinette's mom.

"Yes! The whole week I'll be working with the famous designer, Gabriel Agreste!" Marinette could barely hold the emotion she had within. Maybe she could even get to spend some time with Adrien.

"That's my girl! I knew you would!" a voice came from the kitchen of the bakery.

"Thank you, dad," shouted Marinette. Tom came out of the kitchen and hugged his daughter. "I'm really tired; I'll be in my room." Marinette said that and went up the stairs to her room.

"Marinette, what if HawkMoth decides to attack while you're with Mr. Agreste?" asked Tikki when they were in Marinette's room.

"I'll be with 9 other persons there, Tikki; I don't think he notices I'm gone. I'll ask them to cover me up; but let's just hope it doesn't happen."

"Alright, Marinette, but remember that without you, there's not much Chat Noir can do to de-akumatize the butterfly," scolded the kwami.

"Well, he can catch it in a butterfly net until I arrive," joked Marinette, directing a smile to the little red creature.

...

The next day at school, classes were relatively normal, except for the fact that everyone was supposed to begin planning their week, and give a little time to the mentors to prepare the courses as well. The bell rang and everyone headed to their classroom. When Marinette and her friends entered their classroom, their teacher was already there. They sat on their respective seats and put their textbooks on the desk.

"Hi class," greeted Ms. Bustier. "Before class starts, I want to make an announcement for everyone who claimed a spot in the fashion design career."

Marinette raised her view from her sketchbook, suddenly putting a lot of attention in her teacher's words. Was she going to say anything about her?

"Due to the limited availability Mr. Agreste has, there is only one spot for said career," in that moment, Marinette's heart fell to the floor. She wasn't that lucky, she couldn't be the one with the spot. Maybe Adrien would open a spot for her in his course if she asked him to. "Mr. Agreste has already chosen the one who will be working with him next week. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are the one who gets to work with him. He wants you to be at his home this Monday by 7:00 am. Congratulations. For the rest, there are still some places in other courses like agriculture, law and physics, so you better be sure to sign yourself up before someone else wins the spot."

Marinette's heart went to its place again and skiped a beat. Her jaw dropped in amusement; she couldn't believe it. She said thank you to the teacher and the class started. Then, she noticed a blonde boy staring at her.

"Did y-you have anything to d-do with this?" she mumbled.

"I knew how much you wanted that spot and I've seen your designs. I know you have potential and my father will see that too. I may have pushed a little bit, but it was in the right direction. I trust in you, Marinette," he winked at her and returned to his original position.

Marinette looked over to Alya to see her reaction. She was nodding her head in approval.

Life couldn't be better for Marinette… Or at least, that's what she thought.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I took a long time to post this even when I had already written it, but I hope you like it :)


	3. Chapter 3

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."

― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, another classroom was getting the same announcement, but a girl had a different feeling about it.

"So, if any of you applied for this career and didn't get in, you can come to me after class and we'll sign you up in another course."

Said girl was sitting at the back of the class and closed her eyes. She could barely hold the tears that scorched her eyes and that were threatening to come out. She was having a hard time breathing and she had a knot on her throat. Disappointment, anger and jealousy took over her body. 'I bet Marinette Dupain-Cheng doesn't even has talent' she thought; 'I hate her.'

"Ah, perfect, just what I needed. Those feelings that fill her corpse are just my queue," HawkMoth was the owner of these words. He saw how his window opened and akumatized a butterfly. He let it free, ready to control his next victim.

The akuma landed on the girl's sewing kit, which she had on her desk. A sudden feeling of power ran through her veins. She could now hear the villain's deep and cold voice.

"Fashionista, I am HawkMoth and I am granting you the power to show people the talent and potential you have, don't let them hold you back. Of course, I'll need something in return: Ladybug's and Chat Noir's miraculous."

"You got it, HawkMoth."

The girl turned into an akumatized villain just in front of all of her classmates. Her skin turned purple, her hair became full of needles like a needle case, and she was now wearing a tea length a-line dress made with irregular patches of unused fabric and a little box attached to a string like a purse.

"Gabriel Agreste will learn to never reject me again! But first, I gotta get rid of Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

The girl started laughing and got out of her classroom to look for Marinette. It was barely visible, but she was actually floating. In Marinette's classroom everyone could hear the maniac laugh, but they all got scared anyway when she entered the room with a thunderous sound. Everyone raised their view from their text books and started to scream and run, except for two students that were used to this kind of attacks.

Adrien was helping the other students to get out and Marinette stood in her seat, ready to run to a safe place and transform. Adrien was also extending his arm to help her, but both of them froze when they heard the villain speak.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You will regret applying for fashion design! My name is Fashionista and you will no longer be around."

Marinette was a little bit glad that the villain was looking for her; that would give the others time to run and hide. She looked for her friends and they were no longer there, meaning they were probably in a safe place by then.

"But… what did I do?" spoke the girl in confusion.

"You were granted the spot to work with Gabriel Agreste, but if you're not here to claim it, then, I will get the chance," laughed the villain, taking out of her purse a measuring tape and throwing it to Marinette. It fell just before her, but started to slither like a snake. Marinette backed up, but the serpent was faster; it reached Marinette's foot and started climbing until it trapped the girl like an actual snake. It was getting tighter and tighter.

"Oh, is it too small to fit? Don't worry, I can sew it again!" Fashionista grabbed a needle from her hair and aimed at Marinette like it was a dart. She was planning on hurting her badly. Thankfully, a black cat appeared by the door and was quick to act. He slid across the room to get to the damsel in distress; he grabbed her and started to carry her to a safe place.

"I think that's the perfect fit," said the superhero, without slowing his steps.

"I… can't… breathe…" whispered Marinette.

"Oh, right! Don't worry princess, I got it covered," Chat Noir scratched the measuring tape with his claws and freed Marinette. She held on to him and he kept running. The girl looked back and Fashionista was following them, very pissed. 'I don't think she'll leave me alone to transform…' thought Marinette.

"Hey, Chat Noir, I think I have an… urgent need," said the black-haired girl turning red.

"Can your urgent need wait?" he asked, slightly uncomfortable.

"I don't think so, it's… ummm… girl stuff," Marinette was even redder now.

"Oh! Okay, um… There's the bathroom. I'll distract Fashionista while you do what you… gotta do. On the count of three I'll let go of you and you run, ok? 1…2… 3!" The cat let go of Marinette and she ran to the bathroom without hesitation. Once she was there, Tikki got out of her purse.

"Nice one, Marinette!" said the Kwami.

"Thanks Tikki, but now Chat needs my help. Spots on!" Marinette transformed into Ladybug just in time to go and help her partner. He was about to get hit by a needle, but Ladybug dragged him with her yoyo.

"Nice of you to drop by," he smirked and winked at her.

"Oh, I was on the neighborhood," she responded.

"Great, I'll be right back, I left a girl behind," he said, ready to run for Marinette. Ladybug turned to face him.

"Don't worry; I already left her in a safe place," she said, but then saw Chat Noir's face of worry.

"Ladybug, watch out!"

As soon as she heard those words, she jumped backwards in a cheerleader-style mortal jump and turned to face the villain.

"It seems to me that you need to get some stitching straight," said Ladybug and threw her yoyo to Fashionista's hand.

The villain pulled the string, making Ladybug land just in front of her. The hero threw a kick to the villain's face, but she dodged it and pulled out a new measuring tape that she was planning to use as a whip. Marinette now tried to kick her feet, but noticed she was floating, so it was impossible to make her fall. Fashionista grabbed a needle and now she had a weapon on each hand. She whipped at Ladybug, making her back down and fall. She was about to hurt her with her needle, but Chat Noir dropped in and turned it aside with his baton. Ladybug got out of Fahionista's aim and stood up, spinning her yoyo.

"Where's do you think the akuma is?" asked Chat.

"Well, she's getting all of her weapons from her purse, so I guess that's it," she answered.

Ladybug threw her yoyo to Fashionista while she whipped her whip at Chat Noir and trapped her. She was about to drag her close when all of a sudden, pieces of cloth started to pour out of her feet, covering her inside an inaccessible ball made of fabric with another cape of raw wool; Ladybugs yoyo was thrown back at her.

"How are we gonna get in?" asked Chat.

"Use your cataclysm!" shouted Ladybug.

"Great thinking, m'lady!" he said and summoned his power. He approached the ball and touched it, but only the exterior cape went out.

"Any ideas, now?" he asked again.

She summoned her power, lucky charm, and was given a microphone. She had no idea what to do with it.

"Are you gonna sing her out of the ball?" Laughed Chat. Ladybug thought for some seconds and maybe that was what she needed to do.

"Something like that." She turned on the microphone and started speaking into it. "Hey, Fashionista… I heard what you want is Marinette's spot to work with Gabriel Agreste and, maybe… Maybe I can convince her to give it to you," the ball started to open, the girl inside could hear her well. "I think that… if I speak to her… Maybe she'll be willing to give it to you."

Adrien looked at her astonished, he couldn't believe what she was doing. She was giving up Marinette's dream without even asking her; but she asked and she was sure of her decision. She'd get more opportunities like those, she was sure of that, but first of all, was saving Paris.

"Will you really do that?" asked the villain, suddenly looking frail and docile.

"I can try," responded the hero.

"She's lying! Don't you dare trust her! Take her miraculous!" screamed HawkMoth. He was desperate; the miraculous was so close, yet so far apart.

Fashionista extended her arm with the purse and felt a scorching pain through her veins. Ladybug was quick to grab it and then broke it, letting out the akuma inside.

"Time to de-evilize," spoke Ladybug. Her usual saying, though it sounded kind of sad. "Gotcha!"

The black butterfly turned into a white one again, and Marinette let it go with the words: "bye bye, little butterfly." She threw her microphone into the air with the words: "Miraculous ladybug!" and everything went back to normal.

Ladybug approached to Chat Noir to have their usual post-victory talk. He was still surprised by her words and had only 3 paws on his ring left.

"Were you serious about convincing Marinette and everything?" he asked.

"Well, yes. I'm a woman of word," she gave him a sad smile.

"You can't do this, m'lady! It's her dream! I'm not letting you," He begged for her to reconsider. Her expression was completely blank, though a flash of surprise betrayed her eyes, but then she returned to her impassive state.

"What do you even know about her?" she asked, and left. Without the "Pound it!" or the "bug out!" He felt empty. Something wasn't right; there was a piece of the puzzle he was missing out. He'd figure that out later, now, he had to stop his lady from convincing his princess.

…

Marinette went into her room from her roof door. She felt a pressure over her chest that made her feel powerless. She didn't have to convince Marinette, she already knew what the right thing to do was. It was just that… Adrien said he trusted her… and she would throw his confidence away.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Marinette?" asked Tikki.

"It is the right thing to do," Marinette fell face-first to her bed. She sank on her pillows and let out a scream.

"Marinette, I already told you that being Ladybug does not mean leaving your normal life unattended. You have to make the perfect balance between the two lifestyles and this is not it," scolded the Kwami.

"I'm sorry Tikki, but I have made my…" Marinette was interrupted by a loud noise in her roof; then, someone opened the door she had. She stood still in her bed while Tikki hid.

"Hello, princess," said Chat Noir showing his head and with a smile on his face. Marinette turned in her bed, showing him her back.

"Don't bother trying, Chat Noir, Ladybug was already here. She said you might come to snap me out of it."

He stepped on the floor of Marinette's room. It wasn't the first time he was there, but it looked quite different.

"Look, you can't keep on grieving on everyone's sorrow," he declared.

"Why? Why can't I?" She inquired.

"You can't give it up! It's your dream!" Chat spitted. Marinette stood up and faced him.

"What do you know about my dreams?" she snapped. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Maybe I'm destined to be a great astronaut but I wouldn't know because I'm here wasting time with this silly thing about fashion design."

Underneath that hero mask, Adrien was astonished. He never expected to see Marinette like this. She was the most goal-centered girl he had ever met and was forced to give up her dream. He wouldn't allow it. He would do anything within his power to make sure that Marinette continued the path where she belonged in.

She looked desperate, her eyes were crying for help but she wasn't willing to take any. Her stomach hurt and her throat was tied up in a knot. She let out a single tear which she wiped out before he noticed.

He looked around the room and suddenly he noticed what was different. She had her walls covered with pictures of him. He turned red but hoped she didn't notice; but she did, and she also noticed what he was seeing just before turning red herself.

"I happen to enjoy Gabriel Agreste's designs very much…" she justified herself.

"I…" he processed her words and saw his chance. "Which proves my point! Princess, you have to take that course."

"I'm sorry Chat Noir, I have made my decision and I'm not changing my mind," hissed Marinette. Her hands were shaking, but her body was full of determination.

"Well, then goodbye Marinette," he said as he left the room and returned to his home.

"That was hard to hear," said Tikki when he left. The girl looked at the kwami with her eyes full of tears.

"That was hard to say."

…

The next day at school, Marinette looked for the girl who was wearing a villain suit yesterday, but she didn't seem to be anywhere. Marinette asked everyone, but no one had an answer.

She then decided to enter her classroom and there she found the girl, talking with Adrien. Above the pinch of jealousy she felt, she was curious. She approached them and asked the girl if she could talk to her.

"Actually, Marinette, I was looking for you too," Marinette looked at her with her eyes wide open. "I heard what you tried to do for me, but you earned it and I don't want to take that from you. Besides, I found a new mentor that will serve quite as well as his father. I wish you well in your course," under the confused face of our star, the other girl hugged her and went to her room.

"I also heard about the act of heroism you tried to portray, but I didn't want you to give up on your dream, so I opened a spot for her in my course. I hope you don't mind," Adrien smiled at her. A tear of joy fell through Marinette's cheek and she hugged the love of her life.

"Thank you so, so much, Adrien!" she let go of him, gave him a last smile, and continued her path on the pursue of her dream life.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's why I'm posting another chapter here. Maybe I'll post all of them since I have time.


	4. Chapter 4

"Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work."

― Gustave Flaubert

The days passed by and Marinette could barely hold the excitement she had within. Fortunately Monday came soon enough and now we had a happy girl ready for the job. It was cold that day, so over her regular clothes she decided to wear a hoodie made of out her own material and imagination. It was black with a golden bird extending its wings, leaving a trace of sparkles behind like it was flying; it was all made with dots as in the pointillism technique.

Previously that week, she had asked Adrien his address, happy to have an excuse to talk to him but nervous enough to not continue talking with him after she got the answer. He told her that if she had any trouble he could make his driver go to her house and take her to the meeting point, but she declined the offering, being too polite and humble to accept.

She arrived 5 minutes early to the Agreste Mansion. In order to be there that early, she skipped breakfast, but was happy to finally have her first day in the fashion design business.

"Are you excited, Marinette?" asked Tikki, opening the girl's purse.

"You have no idea, Tikki," Marinette sighed.

"Then what are you waiting to ring the doorbell?" asked the kwami. Marinette gave a confused look to her kwami and then laughed. She was so nervous she had forgotten to do that; good thing she was there some minutes early.

Marinette rang the doorbell and a camera focused on here. She heard a voice coming from a silver box attached to the wall, asking her what was what she wanted.

"Ummm… I… my course of fashion design. Mr. Agreste is my mentor and he told me…" Marinette was cut off by the voice.

"Oh yes. Come in, please."

The gates opened in front of her and she walked towards the door. Outside of the house she saw a human figure she didn't recognized. When she arrived, the woman that stood there greeted her politely; Marinette returned the gesture.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, right? My name is Natalie, I'm Mr. Agreste assistant and I'll take you to meet him in a moment. Have you taken breakfast yet?" she asked.

"Not really," Marinette answered honestly.

"Don't worry, we'll explain you some stuff and then you'll have half an hour to eat," she didn't waited for Marinette to answer; she just turned and expected Marinette to follow her, which she did. When they arrived with Gabriel Agreste, he was walking around a studio, making sure things were right for Adrien's photo shoot in some hours. He couldn't really stop moving so Marinette and Natalie followed him around while talking.

"Mr. Agreste, she is Marinette, the girl that will be here for a week due to her school assignment," Natalie informed.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Marinette extended an arm as if she was expecting a handshake, but she only received a look and a nod from his favorite designer.

"First of all, miss Marinette, I want you to know I am not your teacher, so I don't want you to call me that way; instead, you shall refer to me as 'Mr. Agreste' or 'sir'. Secondly, I am also not your babysitter, so the whole time you spend around here you must remain near my assistant, Natalie; if I ever catch you wandering off or if any of your actions interfere with my work, you will be failed on the assignment. Third, time is money, and that is why I treasure punctuality; Natalie will give you your schedule so you don't have any excuses and the minutes you are late any day will be points taken away from your grade and your reputation amongst the fashion environment. Finally, your final assignment will be given to you by Natalie in a minute, so you can start working on it. It must be delivered by Thursday at 8:00 pm; a minute later and you will fail. Your grade will be given to you by Friday in the modeling career runway. By the way, I would like you to deliver some work of yours to Natalie so I can see them later and consider your potential; if, in my point of view, you don't have any, I will not waste time with you and I will fail you. I'll e-mail you my thoughts on the designs you deliver, so I want you to leave your address to her as well. Any questions?"

Marinette nodded in agreement through the whole thing, speechless; and when he finished, she was taken off guard when he had a question addressed to her. She shook her head to show she had no questions, too stunned to say anything. Gabriel Agreste told Natalie something and continued his usual activities.

"Well, miss Marinette, here is you schedule," continued Natalie as she handed Marinette a paper. "I will send a copy to your e-mail as well so you can have a back-up. There are no absences of any nature allowed and you may not talk to the models and professional people here unless it is completely necessary. Your final assignment is explained completely on this sheet of paper," she gave Marinette another sheet, "and if you have any questions about it, you may e-mail them to me and I will deliver your doubts to Mr. Agreste," she now handed Marinette a notebook and a pen, "I need you to list here your name, number, e-mail address, house address and two emergency contacts. Here is a privacy policy you must sign and I will give you a copy later if you please. I believe you are hungry," Marinette nodded to this. "Then you may continue to fill and read this in the dining room as the food is being prepared, alright?"

Marinette waited to see if Natalie had anything else to say, and since she seemed to be finished, Marinette saw her opportunity to talk.

"Yes, completely fine, I just have one question. At the end of the week you are supposed to sing a paper where it says I completed my assignment," Marinette said.

"Ah, yes, I've been informed about that. If you have it now, you can give it to me and it will be given back to you by Friday while we keep a copy of it for the agenda archive," she answered. Marinette said it was in her backpack and she would deliver it as soon as possible. That being said, they headed to the dining room.

…

"We have here a variety of chefs that can make anything you want, so you can tell me and it will be served in some minutes," Natalie informed.

"Oh, I… I'll take whatever they already have, I don't really want to bother them," Marinette responded with a shy smile. Natalie understood that the girl was not used to having this kind of attentions and took mercy on her by asking:

"Are waffles and orange juice fine?"

"Yes, they're great; thank you. And, ummm… can I get a cookie?" Marinette directed a smile to Agreste's assistant and she nodded. Natalie left the room leaving Marinette and her kwami on their own. The black-haired girl was overwhelmed by the attentions she suddenly was receiving that she blushed a little bit.

"Wow, Marinette, this house is huge! If you ever marry Adrien you should tell him that you're moving to his house," Tikki got out of the purse and was flying by Marinette's head now.

"Tikki!" the girl scolded, although she had a smile on her face.

"I'm just joking, Marinette," laughed the kwami.

With that, the girl took out the papers she needed to fill and read and started to do her duties. She suddenly found herself so caught up in the information that she completely forgot about where she was and the environment that surrounded her. She was busy filling and planning her week that she didn't notice when a boy on his pajamas entered the room. However, he was too sleepy to notice her too; he just sat at the table and rubbed his eyes. Once on the table, he noticed the presence but didn't give it too much of a thought.

"Good morning," he said and yawned.

"Good morning," she responded.

Suddenly, they both seemed to notice each other for the first time. Marinette raised her gaze from the papers and looked at Adrien. They both jumped in surprise since they didn't expect to see each other there. Adrien suddenly took conscience of what he was wearing and blushed.

"Oh, hey Marinette," he said, shyly. "I… I didn't know you were here. I can go if you want," he looked down to what he was wearing. It was just some blue pants with a square pattern and a plain white shirt. Still, he blushed a little more.

"Oh no, it's okay, I-I don't mind, really," she said, knowing he was thinking about his clothes; "be-besides, I was starting to feel that this house is a little too big for me, especially if I'm on my own."

"Fine, then," Adrien smiled at her. They both just sat there in silence, looking at each other until they heard a door opening, so Marinette put away her papers and their dishes were served.

Marinette had some gorgeous-looking waffles with whipped cream and strawberries on top and a single chocolate chip cookie, still warm, as well as a freshly made orange juice. She was blown away by the presentation of the meal, since she considered it was really fancy. They even had cloth napkins perfectly folded and an incredible amount of cutlery.

"Whoa," she couldn't contain herself from saying that. She thanked the waiter-looking people and looked over at Adrien.

He had a multigrain cereal with dried wild fruits, a glass of milk and a glass of green juice. It didn't look quite as tasty as Marinette's.

"My father says I have to keep my shape for the photo shoots," he explained, like he read her mind.

"If you ever get tired of it, I don't mind sharing," in order for Marinette to make a comment like these, she was staring at the floor, with a shy smile on her face and blush on her cheeks. He smiled and started to eat.

"Are you going to take breakfast here all week?" he inquired.

"Well, this paper says that in order to prevent unpunctuality, I-I am able to take two meals a day here if I want to; so I guess that's a yes."

"It's going to be good having company for a change."

"I agree. You'll have me in your house from 7 to 4:30 every day. Though I may be a little distracted over my final assignment." Marinette took a sip of her juice and, very carefully, took a piece of the cookie and slid it to her purse. Fortunately for her, Adrien was too caught up on his breakfast to notice.

"7 to 4:30!? That's too early for you to wake up" Adrien exclaimed in amusement. "What a nightmare."

"Oh, I don't know; I think you are a dream… I mean! I'm kind of considering this more like a dream than anything. I, well, I get to be with my favorite designer in an environment I want to get involved when I grow up," 'and also, I get to be with you' she thought and blushed a little before continuing eating.

"Well, that makes sense. But, what do you have to do for your final assignment? I know my father and he can go a little over the edge sometimes," he smiled, almost like apologizing for his father attitude.

"I don't think he is. Well, I just met him and he seemed a little rough, but he has to be like that to keep his impassive image," she said. "Anyway, for the final assignment I have to make four pieces of wearable clothes or accessories representing the elements," by then, she saw Adrien's face of horror and she realized her mistake. "Oh! Not like the periodic table one, but more like air, water, earth and fire," she directed him a guilty smile.

"That makes more sense," he relaxed. He looked at his plate and smiled to himself. This was the way he wanted things to be with Marinette. They were talking so easily that he felt like he was talking to a completely new person.

"But enough about me; what about your pupils? When are they arriving?" she asked.

"At 10. I know they don't want to wake up early and I don't either if I don't have to. But still, here I am," he smiled and gestured himself.

"You're still in your pajamas, though" she laughed. Was she mocking on him? This was a side of Marinette she never knew she could have around Adrien.

"Hey! I didn't know you were coming! If I had, I would've worn my best gown," he grinned at her and they both started laughing. 'That was really Cat Noir of me,' he thought.

Marinette couldn't believe it. She was there, having a meal with Adrien and being able to express completely coherent sentences! And, was he flirting with that last comment? She decided that that was the best day of her life, although she still has a lot coming. She giggled and looked at the clock. It was five minutes before her meal-time finished. She completely freaked out and finished her breakfast. Someone recovered the plate, she said goodbye to Adrien and left.

…

Marinette returned to the studio just in time, and Natalie started to give her a tour around.

"This studio is quite small because this is just the one we use for special or emergency photo shoots. Today, we are having Adrien's pupils here since we don't want to overwhelm them with the big ones. This is Vincent, one of our photographers. Vincent, this is Marinette. She is taking the Fashion Design course for her school," Marinette was aware that meeting the people there could open a lot of doors. She extended an arm and Vincent and the girl shared a handshake.

"Hello Marinette. Today we'll be taking photos of Adrien, our star model, with some of the outfits of this new season. If you ever get to photograph your designs, you really have to be checking out for the lights since we need the give the most realistic representation of the color of clothes and any shadow can modify that, so I want you to pay attention on that, ok?" Marinette nodded, glad she could trust on the people there to give her advice. She sure was going to learn something there.

"This is Tony, our tailor. He is here in case of any wardrobe malfunction during the photo shoot. He also is the one who makes Adrien's outfits out of Mr. Agreste's designs sometimes. Today, he will take the measurement's for the models in progress from your school," Marinette gave him a smile as they continued their path.

During some hours, she was asked to make some favors or bring coffee for the people or stuff like that. She couldn't complain, she was happy watching the people give the finishing touches to everything and soon, Adrien was there too to check if he was missing anything for his lesson. Everything was calm and relatively quiet until Adrien's pupils arrived.

Marinette was with Natalie as she was instructed to, and they both were with the tailor who was explaining stuff about the fabric that he used to let Adrien move easily. Adrien was in front of the camera showing some poses he had to make the lights focus on his clothes but without taking away the spotlight from him when a blonde headed brat approached to her.

"Stop drooling, Marinette; it is not quite polite," she said, imitating Alya's voice.

"Back off, Chloe; I'm here to learn," Marinette answered.

"Yeah sure, like I believe that! Everyone knows you're head over heels for the guy. But guess what? He's already mine," Chloé taunted. Of course Marinette knew that wasn't true, but it still hurt. She frowned at her and opened her mouth ready to say something but she was interrupted by a sound of someone clearing his throat behind her.

Marinette stood beside Chloé to reveal the image of Gabriel Agreste. He was raising an eyebrow looking at both girls.

"Miss Bourgeois, I believe that you should return to your lesson," Chloé nodded and went back to stand with the other girls. "And as for you, Miss Marinette, did Natalie not tell you to not speak with the models? This is strike one, young lady. I consider opportune to remind you not to talk to the models, especially with my son. And I hope that being 'head over heels' for him will not be a distraction for your or him. If he misses anything thanks to you, I will completely blame you and you will be failed. Am I clear?" Marinette nodded and Gabriel left. She took her previous position, looking at the floor.

Adrien was watching, but he wasn't able to hear anything. He felt bad for Marinette, but could do nothing. He continued with his lesson.

It was true, Marinette was madly in love with the boy, but his father had nothing good on her. She looked at the blonde guy, thinking that everything she did just reduce her opportunities with him. She thought they would never be together. A single tear fell down her cheek and she didn't stop it, she just let it flow. Maybe with that, all her feeling would fall.

Little did she know that she still has a lot to come.


	5. Chapter 5

"If he touched her, he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win."

― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

The hours passed by and Marinette was hearing everyone's lesson, but not listening to them. Her mind was far deep in her thoughts. Her thoughts, just like her eyes, were flying to the image of Adrien, but quickly locking that door due to the prohibition of his father.

She could hear the voice inside her head reciting:

'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.'

Romeo and Juliet: the most famous story of a forbidden love. Not quite the ending she would like to have with Adrien. The difference between the two pairings was simple to Marinette: her Romeo did not love her in return. A death by love would only be one: hers. What a tragedy would that be, to die for love without her love knowing it. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe herself as Éponine, without Marius.

Or maybe she was just being dramatic; she knew well. She had been described as that before by her best friend Alya. The thing was that she managed to accomplish more that day than the entire she had known Adrien and know she had to forget about it or she would lose her dream.

"So, Marinette, I hope that was clear," she heard Natalie's voice, taking her out of her head.

"Ummm… sure," Marinette answered with a smile, but had no idea what was it. Natalie guided her to a chair in front of a table and she sat.

"Perfect, because this is really important to Mr. Agreste," 'damn' she thought. She had no idea what was going on or what she had to do. Still, she pretended like she did and nodded politely. After, Natalie left her there and she took out her tablet.

Marinette had a lot of designs there she could send to Mr. Agreste, so she decided to look for the best and sent them to Natalie. Minutes later, it was lunch time and the Agreste team had prepared a gorgeous banquette for everyone. Marinette was about to head to the dining room when Natalie stopped her.

"Miss, I told you to stay here, remember? Mr. Agreste doesn't want any distractions with the new models and the people there," Natalie scolded.

"Will I be all on my own?" Marinette asked. That was the part she missed, that she wasn't allowed to go to the banquette.

"Well, someone will come every few minutes to check on you," Natalie was sad to not let Marinette in there, but those were direct orders from her boss. It was crazy to do this to a girl just because she had a crush on Mr. Agreste's son. But she had to follow orders without hesitation.

"Fine them… Perhaps if I go now…"

"Not possible Miss Dupain. You can only check your out until 4:30. I'm sorry Miss, but I will bring you something to eat," as mad as Mr. Agreste was with the girl, Natalie couldn't leave her there without eating, that's why she took mercy of her. The assistant thought Mari was a nice girl, even if they had only met that day. She couldn't see how Gabriel could be mad; she would make a great pair with Adrien. But how would he know? He barely spent time with his son and probably had no idea of what was really good for him. But, of course, he was the boss; he would always have the last word.

…

Adrien was in the banquette, watching people and talking to them. His father gave an speech and he stepped into a little platform with him. But now, the boy was walking around, taking some food and searching. He was looking for someone who would take him out of this world for a while; away from the glamour and the superficial environment. He was looking for a black-haired girl, with bluebell eyes. The only one he knew that wouldn't talk to him for his fame or his money. Yet, she didn't seem to be anywhere.

"Hey Natalie," Adrien saw his father assistant, knowing the last time she saw Marinette, she was with her. "Have you seen Marinette?"

The woman smiled at him and told him what he wanted to know. She also gave him a plate with food and asked him if he could take it to the girl. He agreed and started her path to the girl.

… ´

Marinette was drawing something on her tablet when a plate of food was set in her table. She looked up and saw the most beautiful green eyes she knew and blushed.

"Natalie told me you were here, I hope you don't mind," he said and Marinette shook her head. She was mesmerized by him, as always. But then she remembered the warning his dad gave to her and her expression turned gray and sad.

"T-thanks Adrien, b-but… You really shouldn't be talking to me," she said, looking to the floor.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Well… He found out… something about me, thanks to Chloé and now he won't let me talk to you; or anyone, for that matter, but especially you," She saw how Adrien closed his fists.

"Don't listen to them, Chloé is always lying and I'm gonna tell him…"

"The thing is that… She wasn't lying, what she said, what he found out… It was all true," Adrien's mouth formed a perfect o thanks to the surprise of that comment. What could be so bad that she wasn't allowed to talk to him?

"Besides," she continued, "there's no point on denying it if I know that I would only be lying; to them and to me. That doesn't go with my principles and that isn't who I am," he had to admit that even if she gave an image of a frail girl, she was tough.

"But, Marinette, what could possibly be what he found out? Is it really that bad?" Marinette looked at him for a second and then looked down again. She didn't know how to say it and perhaps she shouldn't say it. She wouldn't say it; not now. It was not the time unless she wanted to end like Éponine instead of Cosette because that, the question he made, that precise moment, was the first shot.

…

Adrien was in his room now, several hours before the banquette ended. He offered to walk Marinette home but his dad refused.

He was walking all over his room, restless. He wanted an answer that she wouldn't give him. He wanted to know, to understand, but everyone seemed to want him in a blank space.

"Stop walking, you ruin my eating session," he heard Plagg say.

"I'm sorry Mr. Eater but didn't you have one of those like a minute ago?" Adrien asked.

"Perhaps, but I'm trying to keep my cheese close to me. Talking about that, I need more camembert."

"Plagg, you're a mess. A mess who's not getting more camembert until tomorrow," Adrien was worried that his kwami would explode from all this eating.

"What a tragedy. Oh, that sadness that dwells within me cannot be beard. Perhaps some cheese could save me from my cruel destiny," Plagg was laying face up, with a hand on his forehead and his eyes closed. When he finished his act, he opened an eye expecting Adrien's response.

"No."

"Then end with my suffering now and kill me before the unkind claws of destiny find me and I die with a lot of pain and sorrow," Adrien looked at the creature with a skeptic look. He couldn't believe how far his kwami would go for something he wanted.

And perhaps… Plagg was the solution to his problem! If Marinette wouldn't tell Adrien, maybe she would tell Chat Noir! After all, everyone trust heroes, right? That was the perfect plan. He checked his phone to see the hour only to find out that it was 2 am already and that maybe Marinette was already sleeping, so he had to wait until the next day. But he would do it and he would find out, he was determined to.

…

"I'm such a fool, Tikki," Marinette was in her room, laying on her bed and hugging a pillow. She had some tea near her that her mom had done to her because Sabine saw her sad; and she was indeed, but more than anything she was frustrated.

"You did right Marinette; it was not the moment to tell him. Don't worry about it, it will come eventually," her kwami was trying to calm down her, but failing on the attempt. She was sad, mad, heart-broken and embarrassed. Her secret was out to someone she wasn't planning on telling soon and her dream was pending on a string, and the worst of all was that it was only her first day, what was she supposed to expect for the rest of the week?

Her phone rang and she looked at the screen, which revealed a photo of Alya looking back at her. Marinette answered, ready to tell everything to her friend.

"Hey Alya, how did your first day went?" of course, Marinette was polite enough to ask first.

"It went fine, but there were no Ladybug stunts to get material for my ladyblog. How about you?" Marinette smiled, remembering how her friend was a great fan of her actions even if she didn't even know they were hers and then, she remembered what she had to say.

"Not quite as good," Marinette told the story to her friend from beginning to end. How it started well and slowly became into a nightmare, but not any nightmare, the worst she had ever dared to dream (or in this case, live).

Alya went speechless, not knowing what to say to her friend. She knew no words would be enough to calm her down, so she offered the next great thing she had.

"Would you like to catch lunch with me and Nino tomorrow? So you don't have to have an awkward time alone on the huge dining room."

"That would be amazing."

They continued to talk for several hours until they both went to sleep. Marinette was still thinking about the events of the day, but she couldn't torment herself with that more. She was tired and a big day was waiting for her on the next sunrise.


	6. Chapter 6

"Out of clutter, find simplicity"

-Albert Einstein

Marinette was already in the studio with the whole Agreste team preparing everything for the models. Today they would have a special guest with them so the models could learn more, but Marinette couldn't care less.

She was pacing here and there making favors: bringing the camera to the photographer or a needle to the tailor. She was trying to keep her mind off Adrien, but nothing seemed to work; his image would always come back at her.

Then her thoughts went to that morning…

Marinette was sitting at the table, eating her freshly made breakfast and thinking about what she could do for her final assignment. She was talking to Tikki about some ideas she was already developing, but two elements were missing: earth and water.

In that moment, a guy entered through the door of the room. He was fully dressed and holding his breakfast on his hands.

"Hey Marinette!" the girl was taken out of her fantasies just to reveal a beautiful smile. A beautiful smile that was forbidden to her.

"A-Adrien…" she whispered and looked at her almost empty plate.

"My breakfast was delivered in my room today, which I thought was kind of odd. Are you taking breakfast with me again today?"

"Actually… I was just about to leave. I'm, sorry…" she looked quite upset. In other circumstances, she would have given anything to stay with him.

"Is this about what my father said, again?" he asked, slowly losing the smile that embellished his face. She was shattering because she knew that she was the reason that his eyes were losing their sparkle.

"I'm sorry, Adrien, but this goes beyond you and me. I would love to stay but… I don't want to get either of us in trouble," Marinette said and left, leaving Adrien by himself in a big and cold room, like he was used to.

…

The models arrived while Marinette was with Nathalie. They were both going over a list of stuff that they needed and checking everything was in place. Her mind was finally forgetting about the blond boy who was constantly reining her thoughts.

When everything was finally in place, the tailor left the studio because he had a runway in Milan, so he wouldn't be there for 2 days. Everything needed to be in perfect state in order to avoid a crisis while the tailor was gone.

"Are you already thinking in what you're going to deliver on Thursday?" Nathalie asked to the black-haired girl.

"Yeah, I'm almost done with one but… I'm still thinking in options," she admitted.

"It's okay, but remember you don't have a lot of time," the assistant reminded.

"I know, I just…" Marinette was interrupted by the voice she was struggling to forget. The voice that, for the first time, she didn't wanted to hear. But the voice that, no matter what, still made her heart turn and jump out place; 5 words: that was all he needed to bring down her progress in forgetting him.

"Marinette, can you come please?"

Marinette looked at Nathalie, who just gave her a smile behind her glasses and told her to go. After all, it was him who talked to her.

"Yeah?" she said when she arrived at his side and he smiled at her. Marinette didn't smile back, she was just frozen there. How could she not be? His smile seemed to light up the whole place, even more than all the lights there.

"I was just saying to the girls that we must also thank the designer at all times. After all, it's the designs that give us jobs and make us look good, so thank you." he said, sliding his arm across her shoulders.

"Don't you want me to bring your dad? He's the real designer here…" she said. He smiled at her with tenderness and hugged her. She wanted to return the gesture but she didn't seem to be able to move a muscle on her body, so she just stood there.

"Miss Dupain," they heard a voice behind Marinette. She closed her eyes and shrunk while Adrien let her go. They both faced Gabriel Agreste. "I must speak to you now."

"Father, it was me who talked to her," Adrien blamed himself.

"Stay out of this, son," he got as a response. He guided Marinette far enough so Adrien wouldn't be able to hear her conversation, and when they were there, he said something she didn't expected:

"I saw your designs and I must say that I am impressed with your work, young lady."

"R-really?" she asked in amusement.

"Yes, and I am excited to see what you have prepared for the final day. I know I said I would send it to you, but I considered opportune to tell you face to face. Congratulations. " he then left. Marinette knew she was receiving nice words, but the lack of a smile didn't make her feel like she was. Still, she was now really happy. Her favorite designer thought she had talent… what a dream.

Marinette returned to Natalie with a big smile on her face. Finally something good had come from Gabriel. Suddenly, she heard the assistant swear and looked at her. She looked like she was on the edge of freaking out.

Nathalie had pieces of cloth on her hands and when Marinette looked closer, she noticed that it was a broken jacket. Marinette opened her mouth and looked at Nathalie, who looked back at her and a spark on her eye lit up.

"Marinette, you are a great student and a great sewer. This jacket is for tomorrow's photo shoot and if Gabriel notices it's missing, he's going to kill everybody. I am asking you to take it home today and repair it. The tailor won't be available and it is already too late to call someone else."

Marinette was freaking out on the inside. There was no way she could say no, but it was also a lot of responsibility shoved down at her shoulders. She agreed because she had no other options but had no idea how to make it right. I was practically torn apart and the only way to repair it was to make a completely new one, but since she couldn't get close to Adrien, how would she get the measurements?

Nathalie provided all of the fabric that she was going to need and asked her to not tell anyone. She let Marinette go out early and she was about to get out of the door when she heard…

"Going somewhere?" she froze because she thought she was going to get scolded, but then she realized the owner of the voice was Adrien.

"Well, y-yes. I'm going out t-to eat," she stammered.

"You're not making me company again?" he asked and, to her surprise, he looked sad.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I promised Alya and…"

"Is Nino going to be there too?" Marinette opened her eyes wide. She wasn't expecting that.

"Well, yes," she answered.

"Can I come?" he had a shy smile across his face and he was looking at the floor. She couldn't hold it together any longer and smiled at him, held his hand and, when he looked at her, she said:

"Sure you can."

…

"Hey girl… and boy," Alya said when they arrived at the restaurant. She gave an inquisitive look to her friend that implied 'GULR! You gotta tell me everything.'

"Hey guys!" said Adrien, with a smile on his face.

"Yo Mari! How's it going with Mr. Stiff?" asked Nino once they all sat down.

"Well…" she looked at Adrien, who was only looking down, "it's going quite well, actually. Today I received a compliment from him."

"Really?" asked Adrien in surprise.

"Betcha' he was impressed with your designs," guessed Alya and Marinette smiled at her and then confirmed it.

"That's amazing, Marinette," congratulated Nino.

"Thanks. But now you tell me how's it going with music?"

"Well… They said I couldn't use my DJ table and now I'm learning to play the tambourine."

"The tambourine?" laughed Adrien. They all were holding a good laugh and Nino was looking at them, scolding them with the eyes.

"I wanted the guitar, but they said I wasn't ready for it just yet," he admitted. Alya grabbed his hand and said:

"Yeah, we tried to warn you..."

"Wi trid ti wirn yi" he mocked and his three friends could no longer hold the laughter they had within.

…

Marinette arrived home an hour later and with fear remembered the last minute duty she had.

She ran upstairs and took the fabric out of her bag, but she had an enormous problem: she didn't have Adrien's measurements. She would have asked him, but he couldn't know. And also, if she had, she would have been shaking and stammering all the time making it impossible for her to work correctly.

"Tikki! What am I going to do!? How am I supposed to get it right? Why did the tailor had to go now!?" Marinette was completely freaking out about the job.

"Calm down, Marinette. You have made right measurements without the person there," Tikki reminded.

"Well yes, but I always do it with a model that has a similar body type. I'd do it myself, but I'm too little," she answered when they heard a noise on the roof. "I know the sound of those steps…" said Marinette.

"Chat Noir, right?" asked the kwami.

"Yes. I'm going to tell him I'm too busy and I need him to go," she had no time to be fooling around with a boy, especially with that boy; she had work to do.

"Wait Marinette! Can't he help you with the jacket problem? I mean… He is a boy and I think he is kind of the same size as Adrien," Marinette thought about I and decided that the kwami was right, maybe Char Noir was the solution to her problem.

She opened the roof door and saw a boy wearing a black leather suit.

"Why hello, princess," he said.

"Chat, I'm actually really happy to see you," Marinette smiled at the boy, which looked at her with eyes full of surprise.

"You are?" he asked.

"Yeah, come in," Chat was still really confused, but he did. Marinette looked at him from head to toe narrowing her eyes.

"Mari, are you checking me out?" he asked, flattered.

"Yeah… I need your help," she admitted and was granted a grin from him.

"What can I serve you with, purr-incess?" he grabbed Mari's hand and kissed it, leading her to take back her hand.

"Well, remember I took the job?" he nodded, "well, we had a problem with one of the pieces and now I need to solve it, but I also need your help to get the measurements because I can't get near Adrien and the jacket is supposed to be custom made, so… yeah."

"Sure I'll provide my model body to help a damsel in distress," he said while showing off his muscles. Marinette was kind of irritated by that, but she still needed him. She rolled her eyes, took out the measuring tape and looked at him.

"Stand still, please," Marinette wrapped her arms around Chat's waist, which made him stand rigid and blush. Marinette found this really funny.

"Calm down, kitty cat, I'm just measuring," she laughed, but he didn't relaxed.

After that Marinette continued working with Chat admiring her skills. He was so astonished by her abilities that he could barely talk; he was just happy looking at her while sewing or making notes on the sketch she had. He always got a little tense when Marinette approached to him to make some measurements and he wasn't sure why.

When the girl finished, she looked at him with her blue eyes sparkling. On a time between the work she decided to change her hairstyle from the normal pigtails to a high bun and Chat thought she looked beautiful. 'Well, she always looks beautiful but now she looks really cute and… wait, what? What am I thinking?'

"Well, Chat, what's up?" she asked. He was confused and looked at her that way. "Don't expect me to believe you just came here to say hello; you never do that."

"No, you're right! But there's always a first time," he smiled at her. "Anyway, why can't you get near Adrien?"

"Well, Mr. Agreste found out something and now he doesn't want me with him," she said.

"Marinette, are you still awake?" shouted her mom. It was already 12 am.

"Let's go to the roof, okay?" she said and they both went up to the roof.

"What was it?" he asked when they were upstairs.

"It doesn't matter, really. Anyway, aren't you a little late for a friend visit?" she asked.

"Of course not! It's not like we're doing anything wrong," he said. Marinette got closer to him; they were looking at each other eye to eye. Chat backed up a little, but he hit the banister and stopped. She got a little bit closed and they could feel each other's beath.

"What exactly would you define as wrong?" she asked.

"I-I… N-nothing, I…" Marinette burst into laughter and backed up.

"Anyway," she leaned against the banister, "have you noticed all those pictures of Adrien all over my room?"

"How could I not?" he said and she scolded him with the eyes.

"I… I have a crush on him and… his dad knows, but I think he would never approve me to date his son."

Under the mask, Adrien froze. Marinette had a crush on him… wow. He would have never imagined. But it made sense; all the stammering and the nervousness. A click sounded in his head.

"Marinette, princess, that shouldn't stop you from being with him," he held her hands and made her look at him, "I think you should go for it!"

"Speaking of which," she said, letting his hands go, "I think you should get going."

"You're right princess. I'll see you around," he kissed her on the cheek, stood in the banister, said goodbye to her in his usual way and jumped back to his house.

Marinette just shove her hand to her cheek and smiled at Tikki.

…

"There you have it, I was right. I deserve camembert," said Plagg once they were back home.

"Marinette has a crush on me…" was all Adrien could say.

"Yeah, yeah, we know that. How about some cheese now?"

"Plagg, I'm going to make my father like her," he said.

"Why would you do that? Aren't you in love with Ladybug?" asked the kwami.

"Yeah, but I want to have a friend and otherwise, I can't."

"So you're just going to make you father like her and then you won't date her?" he said and Adrien thought it better.

He laid in his bed and thought about the matter for hours until he couldn't do it anymore and he fell completely asleep. He couldn't do that, right? That wasn't him… Not even Chat, that was… Wait a minute. Oh my God!

"I kissed her cheek! Plagg, oh my God! I'm so rude!"


	7. -Part 1-

"But she wished she had had the guts to go up to him and say hello. Or possibly break his legs, she wasn't sure which."

― Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played with Fire

Marinette was 30 minutes earlier that day and was tired as hell. She barely got to sleep thanks to the jacket, but she was glad it was done.

She rang the doorbell and the gates opened. Nathalie let out a sigh when she saw the jacket on a clothes hanger Marinette was carrying; the assistant rapidly made signs for the girl to follow her and led her to her office.

"Leave the jacket on that chair, please," asked the assistant to the girl. "Thank you again for your work. Breakfast won't be ready until half an hour, the Agreste mansion has some spear rooms where you can stay until it's time."

"Sure," Marinette directed a smile to Nathalie who told her directions of how to get to a room.

Marinette and Tikki, now on their own, were wandering on the house. Mari had never been on the second floor, so this was all kind of new to her. The house was pretty big, specially compared to her apartment; even if her house was also kind of big, it was no mansion.

She tried to follow Nathalie's directions but all the rooms the house had made it quite difficult. When she thought she arrived on her desired destination, she opened a door and stepped in. The room was huge, way bigger than any of the rooms in her house. There was a TV and a couch where she could stay, as well as some game machines and a… a climbing wall?

She headed for the couch when suddenly she saw a book shelf on a second floor inside that room. She climbed the stairs and approached to the books. Once she got a better look at everything, she noticed there were not only books, but there were also movies and videogames. She took one movie to read the synopsis and heard a door opening.

Coming out of what she thought was the bathroom she saw a human shadow formed behind the steam. She flattened herself against the ground in an act of panic. From the border of the floor she saw a blond head that she would recognize anywhere.

She had entered into Adrien's room and he… he was… he had just come out of the shower. The boy was standing there with just a towel covering him from his hips down. Due to this, Marinette panicked even more and did the one thing she thought was the mature thing to do. She covered her eyes with her hand, stood up, yelled "I'm sorry" and started to go down the stairs. Of course, she fell but kept running towards the door, not without tripping again a few times.

Adrien looked at her completely embarrassed while his whole face turned completely tomato red. He quickly retrieved to the bathroom with Marinette's voice repeating over and over her apologies on the background.

Once out of the room, Marinette uncovered her eyes and Tikki came out of her purse just to watch the terrified tomato-red face of her owner. She let out a giggle and guided the girl to a new room; one which the kwami made sure was vacant before entering.

"Well, that was awkward," whispered the kwami, waiting for a response, but when silence was the only answer she got, she decided to look at Marinette.

She was completely flustered and totally unable to pronounce a single word, let alone a coherent sentence. She was completely frozen thinking about the events that had taken place recently and decided to enlist them:

· I am at Adrien's house

· I was in Adrien's room

· Adrien was taking a shower while I was there

· I-I s-saw Adrien in j-just a t-to…

She shoved that thought out of her head, wrapped it in an invisible blanket and tossed it into an inexistent fire. She had to distract herself with something else and stop thinking about that.

Although… It was the first time she had ever seen Adrien shirtless… But that was completely and absolutely invasion of privacy!

"Oh no, Tikki! That wasn't invasion of privacy was it!? Oh my God! He will tell his father who will get me kicked out of his house by the police and get me in jail where I won't be able to escape and be Ladybug, also I will never get to be a famous fashion designer; and the next akuma will kill everyone while I'm in a cell all by myself. And the worst part of all is that I'll be Adrien-less!"

"Marinette, chill out! That's never going to happen," with those words, Tikki gained a disbelieving look from the girl.

"Tikki, I just committed a felony!" she exclaimed and Tikki looked at her, implying that she was done with her imagination. The kwami flew to the girl's hand, grabbed it and lead her to a near couch.

"Just calm down, will you?"

And she did. Marinette stopped thinking about it for a total of 2 minutes, because after that Adrien entered in the room she was. At first, she didn't notice, and Adrien made sure of that, because there was one thing he always wanted to do but never had the opportunity to.

He walked up to her and covered her eyes with his hands. He expected her to laugh, look back at him and share a nice talk, but all he received was a stinging pain in the chin just before falling on his back.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry! So, so sorry!" Marinette covered her mouth with her own hands. It wasn't her fault, her reflexes were really good and he had scared her. The only thing that seemed logical to her was to punch the thing that blocked her view. She wasn't expecting him to do a cute thing like he did; she was expecting him to hate her for the rest of her life!

"Believe me, not as much as I am," he said while he was standing up. He saw her watery eyes full of worry and regret and decided to smile at her. After all, he had had worse pain as Chat Noir.

"You must hate me right now," she said, looking at the ground. She was refusing to have to take the weight of those beautiful emerald green eyes on her shoulders and she was also afraid that the emotion those eyes were implying was repulsion.

"No! Not at all! I shouldn't sneak up on people like that," Adrien was regretting his decision. It was just that he had seen people do that on movies so many times that he wanted to try it. He grabbed her hand and, when he looked at him, she saw a sincere smile on his face. "Isn't it a little early for you to be here, though?"

Of course Adrien knew it was because of the jacket, but he was not supposed to, so he had to look at least a bit surprised to see her. Although, with the previous encounter they had shared, that wasn't really hard. Not that he was surprised, per se, but he was kind of embarrassed.

"I… h-had something to d-do s-something early this morning. H-how about I d-do y-you? I mean! You d-doing are y-you? I mean... Shouldn't y-you be a-asleep?" Marinette's stuttering was getting worse now that her mind was being invaded by the images of Adrien earlier. You could notice the frustration in her face for not being able to speak properly.

He reached for her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, but that only made things worse. He felt her do a little jump like if she was scared of his actions.

"Marinette, you don't need to be like that around me. We are friends and I want you to trust me. I'm not going to do anything to you; and I get my father may be a little intimidating, but that shouldn't be an impediment for our friendship." He said, smiling at her.

She smiled back at him, feeling a little more relaxed now. They stayed there for a while, talking, until Marinette forgot of her shyness and she was able to talk without stuttering. That was when Nathalie came in and asked them to go and take breakfast. She was a little surprised to see Adrien there, but not too much.

After all, even if she acted like a robot for her job, she knew how to recognize someone in love.

**Author's Note:**

> My first Miraculous Ladybug fic! I hope you like it :)   
> I really wanted to contribute in some way to this fandom because I love the show and those adorable dorks and I hope you enjoy my work! Leave a comment if you please and that's all.   
> Have a nice day. :D


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